Program

With the Drexel Bachelor of Science Saturday Scholars Program, students can complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioral Health Counseling entirely on Saturdays. This program is specifically designed to help students balance the challenges of education, work, and family life by offering the course content in an accelerated, convenient and flexible manner.

If you have earned an associate’s degree or have other college credits and want to complete a Behavioral Health Counseling degree on a part-time basis, the Saturday Scholars program is an ideal option. Students complete two courses every six weeks throughout the year, allowing the accumulation of credits toward the degree at a rate comparable to full-time students.

The number of credits required to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioral Health Counseling is 180 quarter-credits. For Saturday Scholars, this generally includes 90 or more quarter credits distributed in general education and elective course areas, plus up to 90 credits of coursework in the Behavioral Health Counseling major.

What you’ll learn

The focus of student learning in this program is on how to do a broad range of evidence-based practices associated with individual and group counseling, person-centered assessment and treatment planning, psychiatric rehabilitation, recovery-oriented treatment of substance-use disorders, child and family-focused interventions and other essential clinical skills in demand by behavioral health care employers. High achieving students earn Certificates of Advanced Study that signal specialized knowledge and skills in specific areas of behavioral health counseling.

Graduates of the Behavioral Health Counseling Program are widely acknowledged by the region's employers as being among the best prepared for jobs within the field.

Admissions

To find admissions deadlines, apply online, check out financial aid information, and find the current schedule for open houses, visit the Undergraduate Admissions site.

For Transferring Students

Our transfer policies are specifically designed to accommodate students applying from other colleges. Transfer students may enter the program at any point and transfer a maximum of 90 semester credits (135 quarter credits). The courses and credit values show how many general education credits can be transferred in at the discretion of the program.
(Please note: This program is offered in quarter credits, not semester credits. One semester credit is equal to 1.5 quarter credits; therefore, a bachelor's degree worth 120 semester credits is equal to 180 quarter credits.)

Curriculum

Accreditation

MSA: Accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

Program Level Outcomes

At Drexel University we believe that a well-formulated set of Program Level Outcomes [PLO] that support and are consistent with the institutional mission and goals are the building blocks of an effective assessment program.

Click here
to view the College of Nursing and Health Professions Department of Behavioral Health Counseling Program Level Outcomes.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Saturday Scholars Behavioral Health Counseling Program easily find employment in behavioral health settings, in part because of a critical shortage of qualified applicants. Drexel graduates are widely acknowledged by the region's employers as being among the best prepared.

Graduates who choose to enter the behavioral health workforce instead of continuing in graduate school typically find immediate employment in areas such as:

Psychiatric rehabilitation

Family and child support services

Addictions counseling

Case management and services coordination

Forensic mental health services

Individual and group counseling

Case management and services coordination

Forensic mental health services

Individual and group counseling

Crisis intervention

Starting salaries with a bachelor's degree range from $34,000 to $45,000 per year.

The behavioral healthcare field is tremendously diverse and encompasses far more career opportunities than listed. Career choices exist at all levels of service—from direct care to administration and policy-making. Students will find tremendous benefit both in the employment listings and outreach offered by Drexel's Steinbright Career Development Center and in the diverse professional career experience our faculty brings to our students.

Behavioral Health Careers Summer Academy

Follow Behavioral Health Counseling

Student Voices

Emily-Ann Ruedemann is a senior nursing student in Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions. Now in the midst of her third (and final) co-op cycle, she is currently working as a nurse co-op in the intermediate cardiac care unit at Jefferson University Hospital.

News & Events

07/30/15

If you were given a week to sample a desired major and connect with professionals in your field, all before coming to college, would you take it? The high school students who attended Drexel’s Exploration in Mental Health Careers hosted by the Behavioral Health Counseling Department certainly did. From June 22 – 26 and July 6 – 10 nearly 30 students made the journey to Drexel to get the inside scoop on all things mental health, and their experiences couldn’t have been more positive.

“I loved the counseling workshop where we practiced skills we learned during the week on one another,” said one student. The counseling skills workshop prepared the students for a more realistic counseling experience in the College’s Standardized Patient Lab that took place later in the week. Students engaged in a simulated counseling session with Standardized Patient actors who served as clients in 15 minute, digitally recorded sessions. Standardized Patients, which are regularly used in College of Nursing and Health Professions programs, gave the students an authentic Drexel experience. “I was caught off guard by how real and challenging the actors were,” remarked another student.

In addition to counseling simulations, Summer Institute guests sampled creative arts therapies techniques and toured two outpatient facilities in Philadelphia: Horizon House and Sobriety Through Out Patient. The tours exposed students to real patients in actual treatment settings and gave insight to the dynamics of outpatient care. Students were also impressed when given the opportunity to meet Jeffrey Wilush, President and CEO of Horizon House, who spoke with them about the services offered at their locations.

The students found it beneficial to meet professionals and clients in actual treatment facilities, but two aspects they found to be the most exciting and innovative were sampling creative art therapies and simulated counseling sessions. “I had no idea what creative arts therapies were before Summer Institute,” recalled one student, “but could definitely see myself doing that in the future.” Another student revealed that learning and practicing basic counseling skills, then seeing those skills used by professionals in treatment settings, was extremely beneficial. “It was interesting to see such a wide variety of illnesses and people at different places [in their treatment]” she said.

At week's end, at the celebratory lunch in downtown Philadelphia, students’ faces were beaming with excitement. The group collectively felt like they learned a lot about the field of behavioral health, had a rewarding academic and professional experience and made many new friends. We hope to see Summer Institute students at Drexel full-time soon!

06/25/15

Since joining the Behavioral Health Counseling Department in 2006, Robert Chapman, PhD has endeared himself to students and to faculty throughout the College and University with his thought-provoking lectures on alcohol and other drugs and, more specifically, how to better understand the people who abuse these substances. Among many important contributions to excellence in training the next generation of behavioral health care clinicians is his integration of the Standardized Patient labs in teaching cognitive-behavioral and motivational interviewing counseling skills.

Chapman is also credited with initiating the Department’s Explorations in Behavioral Health Care Careers Summer Institute for high School students. He is probably best known both locally and nationally for his written work and numerous conference presentations on best practices in addressing the problems among college students related to alcohol abuse.

On June 15 at the Department’s Annual Alumni Dinner, Chapman was praised by both former and current students. “They shared personal accounts of how he inspired them through his metaphorical sayings, his experiential learning activities and his mentorship, often conducted via an open invitation to visit his office to share a cup of tea and conversation,” said colleague, Ron Comer, DSW. “Dr. Robert’s influence on the Drexel community will be felt for years to come.”

01/29/15

The study of psychiatric rehabilitation has been an important topic among mental health professionals recently. Predicated on skills development, psychiatric rehabilitation aims to stretch the limits of typical medication intervention treatment programs, and instead focuses on the patients holistically. One proponent of such treatment is Veronica Carey, PhD, an assistant clinical professor in the Behavioral Health Counseling department at the College of Nursing and Health Professions.

As Chair of the Academy of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery within the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, one of the largest psychiatric rehabilitation associations in the country, Carey hopes to use the upcoming Recovery Workforce Summit at the Philadelphia Convention Center as a source of training and development for the psychiatric rehabilitation workforce.

The Recovery Workforce Summit will begin on June 1, 2015 and will consist of a three day long mix of speakers, workshops, live trainings, and educational seminars. Guest speaking sessions will be held in a TED Talk format, educating professionals on pressing issues facing psychiatric rehabilitation workers today. As chair, Carey will overlook the entire program, coordinate guest speakers, and provide a foundation of education for the entire weekend. “Our main goal is to enhance workforce skill-set through interpersonal and engagement skills, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral training, supporting education, direct skills teaching, and documentation,” explained Carey. “These are all things people need to be competent to work within the psychiatric rehabilitation program.” Since federal and state governments require mental health professionals to be competent in psychiatric rehabilitation principles, Carey hopes that the Academy and the Summit in Philadelphia will act as the source for that education.

Psychiatric rehabilitation is aligned with the basic principles of mental health counseling but differs in several significant ways. Historically, patients with mental health disorders were placed on a drug program over an extended period of time, with the hope that the specific drug will counteract the mental health disorder. According to Carey, “Psychiatric rehabilitation goes further by focusing on living, learning, working, and socializing”. These four key areas act as a foundation for improving the person as a whole. “It is crucial for professionals to understand functionality, which means skills, resources, and support,” said Carey.

Psychiatric rehabilitation is growing in importance within the mental health community. Not only is it being recognized nationally, but students in the Behavioral Health Counseling program at the College also test their theory skills in practice, by participating in Project H.O.M.E. This program teaches students to use the principles of psychiatric rehabilitation with actual patients through a fundamental course in the program. Students are assigned “buddies” or actual patients recovering from mental health issues. The students apply what they learned in the classroom to practice throughout the term. “We are also trying to encourage participation from students,” added Carey. “Drexel is also working with Rutgers University, Boston University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago to participate in the upcoming summit”.

Carey has also made an effort for international education. Recently, Carey visited Karachi, Pakistan to treat local mental health professionals on the basics of psychiatric rehabilitation. Although Pakistan has made strides in the area of mental health counseling, it is still very much a clinical based system. Carey hopes that her expertise in the field will train workers in Pakistan to better understand the effectiveness of psychiatric rehabilitation.

As one of the leaders in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation, Carey is working tirelessly to bring her expertise to the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Summit.

Interested faculty, staff, and students are also encouraged to attend the Summit. To learn more about or to register for the program, click here.